Singapore’s Favourite Daddy Bloggers

Marketing Officer Lillian Teo has an online secret. While she enjoys reading blogs by mums, but she also has several daddy bloggers on her regular reading list. “Men and women write very differently. Parenting is a very broad topic and it’s nice to see the different categories being covered from different perspectives and points of view,” shares the 36 year-old mother of one.

Many mum bloggers are home-based and find inspiration in the daily things they do with their children. The average dad blogger, however, spends much less time with his kids. What then do dad bloggers write about, and what makes them tick? We get the low-down from five of Singapore’s most-read local dad bloggers.

Winston Tay, 36, Copywriter, dad to Xander, 5

“My son likes flowers, not toy soldiers. He likes the colour pink, not blue (though this may change, we don’t know)… We let him make his own choices, because we want him to be him, and not what we want him to be.”

WHO Dear Xander started out as a third birthday gift for Xander. Winston also blogs about his fatherhood journey at at The Blogfather. Dear Xander is focused on one sole reader: Winston’s son, Xander. But this may change after Winston’s second child is born – in “early 2014,” he says.

WHAT WE LIKE Winston is unafraid to speak his mind. His raw honesty can make one take a step back and ponder parenthood issues that are not openly discussed, like this one where he shares on his wavering self-worth when he was out of a job, and here where he talks about his youthful streak of kleptomania.

Then there’s his humorous take on the National Family Pledge at The Blogfather, which straddles the socio-political aspect of parenting and an introspective view of parenting that includes problems, imperfections and failures.

WHO Edmund is a Pastor/Wedding Solemniser and a father of three. “Growing up, I was never good with children, and starting a blog about kids was the last thing on my mind”. But things changed over time and he started blogging in 2007 to chronicle his children’s growing years.

WHAT WE LIKE Edmund always has the latest great deals in town and ideas on what to do with your kids. Visited the Punggol Waterway yet? You’ll be tempted to, after reading what Edmund has written about it.

Edmund is also a member of the Media Literacy Council, and he also writes about social media issues that affect the family, such as parenting in a media savvy world.

WHO Andy is possibly the only local dad blogger with four children – his motto is “if we can do it, you can too”, with reference to having multiple kids, surviving on a single income without domestic help, living in a HDB flat and keeping sane.

WHAT WE LIKE Andy and his wife painstakingly record all of the four kids’ milestones and Andy makes it a point to blog about all the kids’ experiences. Andy has also started to include things to do as a family, such as volunteering to distribute food to underprivileged residents.

It’s also interesting to read about the different experiences of a parent with slightly older children — such as his son going for an overnight school camp here — as most parent bloggers have relatively younger children.

Isaiah Kuan, 40, Pastorial Administrator, Joey, 7 and Jayne, 4

“Parenting is not about winning… it is about handling failures.”

WHO Isaiah is an Accountant by training and a photography enthusiast. He started his blog to document the lives of his daughters and to pen down his thoughts as a dad. The blog focuses mainly on Isaiah’s daughters, and on his other interests – photography, food, and travel.

WHAT WE LIKE The beautiful photos (see this post on his trip to Pulau Ubin). It is also refreshing to see a dad blogging about his interests apart from his children. Just as mums strive to find their individuality above simply being mums, Isaiah’s photography posts are the classic example of how a dad blogger can be a dad, as well as an individual.

Kelvin Ang, 37, Financial Planner, dad to Ash, 8, Ayd, 6 and Ale, 3

“Love can get you to do some things that you never imagined yourself doing. Like changing clothes for Barbie.”

WHO He’s Kelvin, “owner of 3 kids, 2 terrapins and 1 fabulous wife”, as he puts it. Kelvin’s wife started the blog at the birth of their first son, but Kelvin took over when she returned to work after maternity leave, and has been chronicling his fatherhood journey since. “When I started blogging in 2005, I didn’t know of any other Daddy Bloggers!”

WHAT WE LIKE Kelvin explores the nooks and crannies of Singapore, hoping to inspiring other parents to embark on this explorative and bonding journey with their kids. You’ll also pick up useful tips on child-related ideas and activities, like Kelvin’s favourite child-friendly restaurants in Singapore. We’re also fans of Kelvin’s unique writing style. He has honesty, humour, a dash of sarcasm and a lot of reality.